A religious group leader accused of murdering the daughter of two of his followers told police the girl "hasn't risen" from the dead despite his prayers, a judge has heard.
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Brendan Luke Stevens, the 62-year-old leader of a small Christian group called 'The Saints, refused to enter a plea in the Brisbane Supreme Court to the murder of eight-year-old Elizabeth Rose Struhs at Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, on January 7, 2022.
Elizabeth died while lying on a mattress on the floor of her family's living room six days after her father, Jason Richard Struhs, 52, allegedly agreed with the family's religious group to reduce and then stop her insulin shots.
Justice Martin Burns heard on Tuesday from former senior constable Christopher McKindley, who testified that he interviewed Stevens outside the Struhs family home on January 8, 2022.
Justice Burns was shown body-worn camera footage of the interview in which Stevens said he had been praying beside Elizabeth while she lay on the mattress since January 7 and he thought she was no longer breathing.
"The child is still there and hasn't risen. We've got to deal with it," Stevens said.
Stevens told the senior constable that he had also been at the Struhs home on January 6 and Elizabeth "had a diabetes condition for a couple of years".
When the senior constable asked Stevens if there was anything more he could tell police, he started laughing, the court heard.
Elizabeth's mother Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs, 49, refused to enter a plea to the charge of manslaughter over the daughter's death.
Justice Burns heard Kerrie Struhs had a parole meeting scheduled for the day before Elizabeth died.
Kerrie Struhs had been scheduled to attend a follow-up meeting with a parole officer in Toowoomba on January 6, 2022, after she was released from a five-month prison term in December 2021.
She was handed an 18-month sentence for failing to provide the necessities of life to Elizabeth in 2019 when she nearly died of prolonged and extreme symptoms from her then-undiagnosed type-1 diabetes.
Parole duty officer Melanie Ford said she met with Kerrie Struhs on December 23, 2021, and was told the parolee was spending all her time taking care of her family and attending church.
Crown prosecutor Toby Corsbie asked if there was any discussion about Kerrie Struhs withholding medication from children.
"No," Ms Ford said.
Mr Corsbie asked if there was any discussion of Jason Struhs adopting the family's religious beliefs, which previous witnesses have described as forbidding man-made medicine in favour of God's healing.
"No," Ms Ford said and told Justice Burns that Kerrie Struhs' next parole appointment was on January 6.
Jason Struhs has been charged with murder and the other 11 members of The Saints have been charged with manslaughter.
Tuesday was the 10th day of a 55-day judge-only trial for all 14 defendants, who are all self-represented and have refused to enter pleas.
Parole case manager Eleanor Savill testified she received a phone call from Kerrie Struhs on January 6 in the morning.
"Ms (Kerrie) Struhs was scheduled to report to me in person that morning at 9.30am ... she was calling to say she was unwell and she could not attend ... She mentioned diarrhoea," Ms Savill said.
Crown prosecutor Caroline Marco has previously told the court Jason Struhs completely stopped Elizabeth's insulin on January 3 and she started getting sick that day.
Parole officer Maria Bidgood previously testified that Kerrie Struhs said soon after release she would "make the same decision again but I would not stop any other person interfering'," in terms of denying medical care to Elizabeth.
Senior Constable Kinlsey Weir testified that defendant Andrea Louise Stevens, 34, told her on January 8, 2022, that Elizabeth had asked her dad to stop giving her insulin because "she believes" God will heal her.
Teacher's aid Peta Singleton previously testified that Elizabeth had "phenomenal" competence with testing her glucose levels and injecting herself with insulin.
The other defendants are Loretta Mary Stevens, 67, Acacia Naree Stevens, 31, Camellia Claire Stevens, 28, Therese Maria Stevens, 37 Keita Courtney Martin, 22, Lachlan Stuart Schoenfisch, 34, Samantha Emily Schoenfisch, 26, Zachary Alan Struhs, 21, Sebastian James Stevens, 23, and Alexander Francis Stevens, 26.
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Australian Associated Press
